Mother battled rare leukemia, died

By JACQUELINE BOSTICK / The News Herald

Published: Sunday, December 30, 2012 at 06:15 PM.

On Aug. 25, the Kristy Nolan Leukemia Foundation held a 5k fun run and silent auction. The fundraiser was to raise awareness and help offset some of Nolan’s living expenses that resulted from losing her job due to the disease.

Kim Brown, Nolan’s aunt, said Nolan wanted leukemia as a health issue to have as much exposure and public discussion as breast cancer.

Nolan found a bone marrow donor match in October and underwent the transplant in November.

“All we know is that she developed something and they were not able to determine what it was because of the state she was in, they were not able to do a biopsy,” Brown said.

That something was a hemorrhage, graft verses host disease or fungal disease, Nolan wrote on Nov. 28 on her website.

“They tried everything they knew to do to stop the bleeding,” Brown said. “But she eventually wasn’t able to breathe at all and was totally relying on life support with no chance of recovery.”

PANAMA CITY BEACH — ‘Strong’ is the most common word Facebook friends used to describe the mother of two.

“I am blessed to have known such a person, I hope that when my number is called, I can fight like she did, with courage, humor, strength and vision,” was reposted by several of her friends on Facebook.

Complications after undergoing a long awaited bone marrow transplant ended in the death of Kristy Nolan, 30, on Wednesday.

“I do wake up in the middle of the night sometimes crying just asking why this is happening to me … All I can think of is God made this plan for me and gonna make me an even stronger person than I already am …,” Nolan wrote on her foundation’s website, knlf.org.

In May, Nolan went to a local hospital under the impression that she had a bad case of strep throat.

“After doing multiple blood tests, the doctors came in to tell me I had leukemia … the tears wouldn’t stop falling and I was so scared! Never in a million years did I think they’d tell me that! And then my journey began…,” wrote Nolan.

On Aug. 25, the Kristy Nolan Leukemia Foundation held a 5k fun run and silent auction. The fundraiser was to raise awareness and help offset some of Nolan’s living expenses that resulted from losing her job due to the disease.

Kim Brown, Nolan’s aunt, said Nolan wanted leukemia as a health issue to have as much exposure and public discussion as breast cancer.

Nolan found a bone marrow donor match in October and underwent the transplant in November.

“All we know is that she developed something and they were not able to determine what it was because of the state she was in, they were not able to do a biopsy,” Brown said.

That something was a hemorrhage, graft verses host disease or fungal disease, Nolan wrote on Nov. 28 on her website.

“They tried everything they knew to do to stop the bleeding,” Brown said. “But she eventually wasn’t able to breathe at all and was totally relying on life support with no chance of recovery.”

Nolan was declared dead at 6:05 p.m., Brown said.

“She’s left a huge void in our lives, she just turned 30. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She was supposed to come home and live her life,” Brown added.

Nolan recorded the process of the bone marrow transplant at knfl.org.

“Through my foundation I am seeking to raise awareness, educate and inform people about this devastating form of cancer,” Nolan wrote.

Though Nolan wrote about recovery and a personal desire to lead discussion about leukemia, Nolan’s family has decided to discontinue the foundation.

Nolan’s funeral will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 9101 Back Beach Rd, Panama City Beach. Following the funeral, a celebration of Nolan’s life will be held at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, 700 Pier Park Dr.

Donations may be made in her memory to Shands UF Cancer Hospital, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Patient and Family Resources, P.O. Box 100306 Gainesville, FL 32610-0306 or to the national Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.